Arc de Triomphe shootout

The Arc de Triomphe shootout occurred in late 1940 during World War II. The shootout resulted in the assassination of German general Heinrich Loder by the French Resistance, ending his book-burnings.

General Loder had ordered the destruction of thousands of rare and priceless volumes, seeking to purge the "corrupt culture" of the "decadent nation" of France in "the fires of rightheous purity". Margot Bonnaire, a Resistance leader who sought to preserve the French culture, sent Sean Devlin to assassinate him at a book-burning at the Arc de Triomphe. Devlin disguised himself as a German soldier, walked around the crowd of German soldiers, and stood to the left of the Arc de Triomphe, where a doorway gave him a side view of Loder as he barked his propaganda from a half-track. Devlin opened fire on him, but Loder survived the first few shots, and he proceeded to dismount the half-track. Devlin proceeded to gun him down during a large firefight with the other German soldiers, and he escaped the area after the assassination was successful. Loder's death weakened the Nazis' ability to target the French culture.